Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 9, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
A fast, interactive workflow when editing visual 3D effects and animations was previously the greatest challenge in rendering. High-quality frames such as those used in films and other applications could be integrated into the interactive workflow only with difficulty. The reason: It simply took too long to render them.
That has now come to an end: NVIDIA’s new Gelato 2.2 rendering software allows the re-lighting of complex scenes in around one second*. The solution is also suitable for final high-speed renderings of images in television quality. Compared with conventional rendering software, performance with Gelato increases a hundredfold*. This is made possible by the graphics processor supporting the CPU.
The further features of Gelato 2.2: faster ray-traced reflections, more precise subsurface scattering, better texture conversion and comprehensive support for the hair feature of Autodesk Maya. In addition, Gelato 2.2 has a more user-friendly interface, data-export functions and improved Maya batch rendering. Gelato works smoothly with all 3D applications, including Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max.
An animated 3D short film by the NVIDIA Digital Group demonstrates the new features of Gelato. “The Plush Life” runs at http://www.nvidia.com/gelatozone.
The basic version of Gelato 2.2 is available as a free download at http://www.nvidia.com/gelatozone. Gelato Pro 2.2 costs 1,500 US dollars and offers additional rendering features and greater scalability for professional production pipelines. NVIDIA also grants volume and educational discounts. Gelato 2.2 and Gelato Pro 2.2 currently support Windows XP and Linux operating systems. The software runs on NVIDIA’s GeForce 5200 graphics processors or higher and on all of the company’s Quadro FX solutions. Gelato Pro is certified only for Quadro FX-based graphics cards and is supported exclusively by them.
Gelato 2.2 will be presented at Siggraph 2007 from August 5 to 9 in San Diego, California.
Further Links:
- Nvidia Short Film
